After two games at their brand new, Nu Stadium, Inter Miami is yet to get a win. A week after drawing 2-2 against Austin FC, Lionel Messi and co. once again drew 2-2, this time against New York Red Bulls.
It was a letdown for Javier Mascherano‘s side, but it was Michael Bradley‘s squad that surprised many with their resilient performance on the road. The Red Bulls put a lot of pressure on Miami, a tactic that Bradley knows all too well from his playing days. What Bradley also knows well from his playing days is Mascherano.
After the match, Bradley was asked by Andrea Yanez of Deporte Total USA about the similarities between him and Mascherano. Both were central midfielders during their playing days, an now both are up-and-coming managers in MLS at a similar age.
Javier Mascherano once asked Michael Bradley to trade jerseys after a USA vs. Argentina game
While showing a ton of respect for his fellow manager, Bradley also told a cool story of when they played each other while representing their national teams.
I have huge amount of respect for Javier. I always did as a player and now as a coach. One of the proudest moments of my career was after a game with Argentina, he sent somebody into the locker room because he wanted to trade jerseys with me… I was never a guy who went out of my way to trade jerseys. But when somebody like Javier Mascherano went out of his way to ask for mine, you can be sure that I kept his.
Bradley and Mascherano actually faced off three different times on the international level. During each of the last three meetings between USA and Argentina, Bradley and Mascherano started for their national teams. The first two ended in a draw, both friendlies in 2008 and 2011. The other match was a Copa America semifinal where Argentina won 4-0.
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